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Research Paper | Horticulture | India | Volume 12 Issue 7, July 2023 | Popularity: 7.3 / 10

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Morphometric Diversity of Date Palm (Phoenix Dactylifera L.) Cultivars from Gujarat Estimated by Fruit Characteristics

Minal Bambhaniya, Susy Albert

Abstract: Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a widely cultivated and highly valued crop in India due to its high energy content. Particularly, the districts of Kutch in Gujarat have extensive cultivation of date palms. Apart from their nutritional value, date palm fruits also hold significant medicinal importance as they contain numerous active constituents. This study aimed to assess the morphometric variations among different date palm cultivars, including five varieties from the local market and four elite varieties from Kutch. Fifteen qualitative and quantitative morphological traits were thoroughly examined in this research. These traits, such as fruit length, width, thickness, volume, density, firmness, and titratable acidity, were evaluated and compared. The results indicated that these traits played a substantial role in discriminating between the cultivars, suggesting their potential utilization in developing a morphological descriptor list specific to Indian date palms. Notably, significant variations were identified among the different cultivars, which provided compelling evidence for the taxonomic identity of the nine studied date palm cultivars. To analyze the collected data, the researchers employed principal component analysis (PCA), a statistical technique used to identify patterns and variability in multivariate data sets. The PCA analysis revealed a high degree of variability among the cultivars, further supporting the distinct morphological differences observed. Overall, this study enhances our understanding of the morphometric variations and taxonomic identity of different date palm cultivars in India. The findings suggest the potential application of these morphological traits as descriptors for future studies and the classification of Indian date palm varieties.

Keywords: Physical properties, statistical analysis, PCA, Phoenix dactylifera L., Dimension, Fruit density

Edition: Volume 12 Issue 7, July 2023

Pages: 1 - 8

DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.21275/SR23628131413

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